The recent New Yorker article piece by Michael Shulman has resulted in a ton of media pickups, mostly focused on her responses to questions about scientology. There have been a number of takes on this of interest: Martha Ross wrote an excellent piece in the SJ Mercury News Martha quotes journalist Yashar Ali who tweeted: And Tony Ortega added some thoughts from Geoff Levin who was extensively interviewed for the story, but little of it made it into print: Now, let me add some of my thoughts, as it was my job back in the day to … [Read more...]
Episode 77: Jefferson Hawkins
We are joined by Jeff Hawkins, an extremely talented, thoughtful and articulate former Sea Org member to recount his experiences with David Miscavige, his role in making Dianetics a bestseller again the 80's and his journey into and out of scientology. He is the author of 3 books on the subject. Jeff's brilliant book Counterfeit Dreams Leaving Scientology Closing Minds The Sociopath Next Door One of the famous Dianetics "Question" ads from 1980's that Jeff created, returning … [Read more...]
The Big Lie: “They Incited Murder”
Yesterday, Tony Ortega reported the news out of Australia concerning the perpetrator of the tragic murder at the Advanced Organization in Sydney. Stefani Hutchinson weighed in with her always cogent and fact driven take on things like this, I recommend reading her blog on the subject. While there is much to be said about what happened, the tragic circumstances, the scientology refusal to acknowledge real mental illness and other things, there is a singular point I want to make. Scientology seized on this tragedy to make baseless and … [Read more...]
Episode 64 : Tory “Magoo” Christman
One of the long term scientology whistleblowers joins us this week, Tory "Magoo" Christman. Her story covers the gamut -- OSA dirty tricks, disconnection, the Lisa McPherson Trust, being Fair Gamed and a whole lot more. It is one of those episodes that might have continued for many hours. She is such a bright, smart and kind person, especially in light of all she has been through. Such a wonderful lady, we thoroughly enjoyed talking with her. Tory is all over social media. Follow her and connect: Tory on Facebook Tory on Twitter Tory on Instagram Tory's YouTube … [Read more...]
Episode 62: The Aftermath OG Amy Scobee
This week we welcome our dear friend Amy Scobee to talk about scientology and celebrities. Amy was in charge of scientology Celebrity Centres for many years. She has a lot of personal experience about how scientology treats its biggest celebrities. She was also the catalyst for The Aftermath when she reached out with the story of her mother, Bonnie. They were featured in the first episode. There's a lot of ground to cover... Note: Some have asked what OG means -- OG is a slang term for someone who's incredibly exceptional, authentic, or “old-school,” someone or something that … [Read more...]
Episode 32: Aftermath Executive Producer Aaron Saidman
On this week's episode, we talk to Aaron Saidman, co-founder of production company (IPC) that was brave enough to bring The Aftermath to air. Tune in for some behind-the-scenes insight into the making of the program, how it came about, the impact it had and how the people involved dealt with scientology and their Fair Game. … [Read more...]
An Open Letter to Church of Scientology by Mark Fladd
Mark Fladd appeared with his wife, Stephanie, on an episode of The Aftermath. They told part of their experiences with Orange County org. Good people, chewed up and spit out by the relentless money-grubbing. Of course, instead of making things right with them, scientology sought to smear them. Mark wanted to clarify some things and I am happy to have this forum available for him to do so. Open Letter to Church of Scientology Clarifications and an update for the Public Record By Mark Fladd, ex-Scientologist | Riverside County, California | 2020 Introduction The … [Read more...]
Blog Problems — Update
As you may have noticed, there have been some issues in the last couple of days with the blog. They may continue for a bit while things are sorted out. Please have patience. Taking the lead from Miscavige, I declare this to be a cyberspace bullbait. Here is what I know. While the number of visits to this site has increased steadily following the Netflix airings of The Aftermath it did not create an issue until a few days ago when things started to ramp up with bots putting a lot of demand on the site, and then seeking to login (none succeeded). This is not uncommon in the … [Read more...]
Scientology’s Tax Exemption
I happened to pull up this posting from April 2015 and in re-reading it I thought it important enough to repost here today. With The Aftermath on Netflix, many new people are being exposed to the horrifying truth about scientology for the first time. And many have the same question as those who have been in the know for some time. How is it that scientology can be tax exempt? This is a pretty good essay that explains in some detail why it should NOT. And it addresses a bit why it hasn’t changed. Unfortunately, with a conservative majority now firmly entrenched in the US Supreme Court, … [Read more...]
Episode 18: Mary Kahn from The Aftermath
Leah and I were very happy to welcome Mary Kahn to the podcast this week. Hers was one of the most compelling episodes on The Aftermath - telling the story of her breaking away from scientology after completing OT VIII and the fallout with her family. The airing on Netflix has put her in the spotlight once again. We went into further detail about her story and covered some other topics I am sure everyone will find fascinating. I will include a link to the episode as soon as it is available. We mention a few items I am including here. First, the reporting about Hy … [Read more...]